They pedaled at the summit of Palandöken.

The excitement has begun at the Mountain Bike Turkey Championship, which will take place for three days at the Palandöken Ski Resort.

The first day of the Mountain Bike Turkey Championship, supported by Erzurum Metropolitan Municipality Ejder 3200 and attended by nearly 300 athletes, has passed. During the first day’s races, athletes showcased fierce performances on the challenging course while occasionally facing difficult moments. The races will include Short Track XCC Race, Cross Country (Stars and Minors), Cross Country (Elite-U23-Youth-Master), and Eliminator XCE Race, all of which are thrilling events. The Mountain Bike Turkey Championship, organized by the Turkish Cycling Federation, is expected to see nearly 300 athletes from 81 provinces competing in 25 categories. On the first day of the competitions, the elite men and women raced on a challenging 1.5-kilometer track. At the end of the day, Emre Yavuz took first place in the men’s category, while Azize Bekar secured first place in the women’s category.

“Athletes to participate in the 2028 Olympics will be determined”

Mustafa Kocaman, a member of the Mountain Bike Technical Committee and Race Director, mentioned that there is a 2-kilometer long course consisting of three points, stating, “The best of Turkey are here. A total of 300 athletes from 81 provinces will sweat for three days. We thank the Provincial Directorate of Youth and Sports and the Metropolitan Municipality for hosting us. This place has been prepared for about three months with great effort. Because for three months, courses have been meticulously built with hard work. However, after the ongoing rains, the tracks were revised again. I thank everyone who contributed. Here, elite men and women will earn points to go to Russia. They will be sent to the International Cycling Union and will prepare for the 2028 Olympics by earning Olympic points there.”